


What is this?

by PepsiWrites



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Anxious Crowley (Good Omens), Gay Panic, Getting Together, Husbands or nothing, Idiots in Love, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mutual Pining, My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, Prissy Aziraphale, an inspector calls, i love these two, no real beta, teen and up for swearing, they're dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-13 19:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21003287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PepsiWrites/pseuds/PepsiWrites
Summary: Crowley was blabbering about one thing or another and Aziraphale was... well he most certainly wasn't listening. This wasn't on purpose. He was just distracted, he always seemed to be distracted when the demon was talking. He wasn't sure if it was the absolute chaos in Crowley's eyes, the way he hissed when he got passionate about something or whether it was just Crowley. Aziraphale was enamoured with his Demon. That was the problem though, according to Crowley, and everyone else, Crowley wasn't his Demon and he was wanting to change that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yo.   
This is chapter one of my first fic on AO3, It is of those damned Ineffable husbands!   
It is partially beta read but not fully so I apologise for any mistakes!  
I hope you enjoy the read!

Armaggedon't had begun and ended in the same week. Crowley and Aziraphale would both admit that that particular week had been rather stressful. In fact they would both say that the last 11 years haven't been the greatest it's ever been, but miraculously, they got through it in one piece, and they couldn't be happier. 

The two sat in Aziraphale's brand new old bookshop with Crowley's brand new old Bently haphazardly parked outside. Crowley was blabbering about one thing or another and Aziraphale was... well he most certainly wasn't listening. This wasn't on purpose. He was just distracted, he always seemed to be distracted when the demon was talking. He wasn't sure if it was the absolute chaos in Crowley's eyes, the way he hissed when he got passionate about something or wether it was just Crowley. Aziraphale was enamoured with his Demon. 

That was the problem though, according to Crowley, and everyone else, Crowley wasn't his Demon. Even after the 6,000 years the two had spent together, nothing had ever been made official. Aziraphale wanted to change that. He knew that he loved Crowley more than anything and he was almost positive Crowley was rather fond of him in 'that way', at least he truly hoped. There was a problem though. If he was wrong by chance, and Crowley didn't love him, Azriaphale may lose his life long friend(?). But to be fair, Aziraphale and Crowley had nearly died that week and they would've took the entire world out with them. Aziraphale had now had a near death experience, which he wasn't too fond of. This made him realise he truly wanted to be with Crowley just incase it happened again (Which it probably wouldn't, but this is Aziraphale and he feels like he needs an excuse to be in love a demon).

Aziraphale stood up and stopped Crowley's spiel as to why he should try and bring Freddie Mercury back from the dead (to give him a hug and a piece of the demon's mind because "sorry Freddie but what were you thinking?").   
"You alright?" Crowley asked, as he realised the sudden change in Aziraphale's usually calm demeanour.   
"Absolutely splendid, my dear!" my dear? with no reaction? They were practically together already. "Just getting another drink. Would you like anything from the kitchen?"   
Crowley gave a skeptical 'Nah' and Aziraphale hastily left the room.

Whilst the kettle was boiling, Aziraphale paced from wall to wall cradling a ornate box in his hands. Why did he bother with the box and ring? He knew Crowley hated these stupid little traditions. 'I'm just asking for failure' he thought to himself. For an angel who had had a fair amount of confidence a few minutes ago, he now questioned every choice in life that he's ever made, and he was sure that Crowley would definitely say no.   
The kettle whistled.   
Well as they say, no turning back now! With his piping hot tea he pottered back into the sitting room. 

He took his seat next to the demon who was scrolling though his phone. He nodded to the angel, the angel nodded back. The two sat there in silence, with it being broken with an occasional sip from Aziraphale or chuckle from Crowley. However, Aziraphale's mind was not as silent as he was. His mind was a swiftly moving mess. 'What if I mess up?', 'What if he doesn't understand the question?', 'What if he perfectly understands the question but gets weirded out and goes on another century long nap, just to ignore m-'

"What is this?" He asked, to cut his mind off from that train of thought. If he was going to do this then he was going to have to do it now.   
"A phone." Crowley flared his devilish grin, "I know you're old fashioned, but really Angel this is the 21st century."   
Aziraphale huffed a bit, scolding himself for not remembering he was talking to a perfectly stupid demon and that he would have to be clearer than that.  
"Hilarious, but I'm being serious." Crowley put down his phone and looked at the angel, who continued to talk, "What is this, an angel and a demon drinking tea in the angel's bookshop."  
"Your average Saturday?"  
"Crowley."  
"Well, whatd'ya want me to say?"  
"What are we?"   
Silence. Now that was a different question. Aziraphale could see Crowley's eyes search around the room for the answer that wasn't there.   
"You don't know either?" Aziraphale asked, giving a soft side-eye to the Demon, "Because, to every unknowing soul, we're together."  
Crowley stayed quiet as Aziraphlae stood up, continuing,  
"and I- well I- I just don't know how to feel about that!" and so the stuttering begun. The stuttering is one thing that caused the following events to happen the way that they did. The stutter, Aziraphale's impatientness and Crowley's general demon-ness, "because I would like f-for the humans- well not humans as such but living, you know, beings to, um- be relatively right..."  
Aziraphale had his hands behind his back and was clutching the ornate box with all of his might, willing for Crowley to answer.   
"Angel", Aziraphale had never felt such a painfully, nice feeling when the demon began to speak, "if you wanted us to be like... boyfriends, you could have just asked."

'Oh bollocks!' Aziraphale said in his mind. Boyfriends? Oh no, that just won't do. The word sounded horrible. It sounded so immature. They've had nearly 6000 years to get to, and past the 'boyfriend' status. If they were to ever be together, they would more than boyfriends. But what was he to do? Except, of course smile and panic; which is exactly what he did.

"Boyfriends. Yes absolutely. Thats what I was asking. Well, you sleep on that. I'm going to go home," Aziraphale, with his hands still behind his back, turned and hurried for the door. He then remembered that this was his bookshop and turned back around. "No wait, This is my house. You need to leave. Please could you go?"

"Okay, Angel, wait a minu-" Crowley begun, but abruptly cut off by a very loud Aziraphale.  
"No! Crowley, I am sorry, but you have to go."   
Crowley could see his angel looked close to tears. He got up and walked over to Aziraphale, trying to speak him, but Aziraphale wouldn't have it. He backed away from Crowley's touch and looked at him. 

"Go." Aziraphale insisted strenuously and with that Crowley left, with hole in his non-exsistent heart.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days had passed and Crowley had heard nothing from his Angel. The first day, this was okay. The second day, he became a bit paranoid, but of course would never admit it. On the third day (the current day) he was, for lack of a better word, shitting himself. The last time he saw Aziraphale, the angel been a right mess. Then demanded that Crowley leave, after asking to be something more than friends. Crowley was waining off the idea of boyfriends as he couldn't get a certain snapshot out of his mind. When Aziraphale went to leave his own bookshop in his own cute panicked way, Crowley swore he saw an ornate box.

Now, Crowley knew exactly what this meant, and had done for the past 3 days. He had been pondering it over and over in his mind. However, he was a stubborn son of a bitch and refused to believe that that was what was truly going on.

That was until, he took a good hour long nap and dreamt of a life with who he thought to be his very own Angel. Not the life they lived now, which was already wonderful, but one where Crowley could hold Aziraphale close in the early mornings. One where they could hold hands on their walks to through the park and come back to the home they shared. One where old books and vinyl sleeves would be scattered around the sitting room, and he and his Angel could get drunk, talk about the most ridiculous things, then go to bed and kiss each other goodnight, every night.

That last one,the kissing one, had been the final straw for Crowley. That is when he took a long hard look at his current situation, and he realised that Aziraphale may have wanted to be a bit more than just boyfriends. This was exactly what Crowley wanted too, and had done for the over thousands of years. So, why did he find it so difficult to realise that the angel felt the same way. He believed, maybe it's because the angel was too good for him, in more ways than one. Maybe he would corrupt the last few shreds of innocence that the angel had. Maybe, just maybe, he was being an idiot, needed to get over himself and have a talk with the angel.

Now, sentiment is a weird thing. It is most certainly something a demon shouldn't feel, but Crowley wasn't your run of the mill demon. So, if any demon were to feel sentiment, it'd be Crowley (and he did). From about 400 years back, when Crowley and Aziraphale roamed the streets of London, just before Aziraphale had to make a small trip to Scotland, the angel's eye were caught by a quaint little jewellery shop. Aziraphale had never really been the jewellery type, but this shop was so adorable, that he was determined to go in. He dragged a very reluctant Crowley in with him. The shop most certainly lived up to the angels expectations. The inside was small and box-like with aisles of accessories in glass cabinets leading to a cash register. It gave Crowley a small smirk, as he made a mental note to give a certain Ingvar Kamprad the idea for the hell-on-earth that is known as IKEA. While the odd pair pondered through out the shop, Aziraphale saw a ring and lit up immediately. It looked small and delicate and it had a set of wings upon the top, with a crystal between them, Crowley wouldn’t admit it but it was very baeutiful. Aziraphale just fell in love with the design and his eyes did that thing where they go all soft, which made Crowley swoon. He was persuaded against the purchase by his demon companion, who felt awful after seeing Aziraphale sadly leave the shop. Crowley suggested the two go to a cafe to cheer the angel up a bit.  
Once the angel had left for Scotland, Crowley wasted no time. He went to the jewellery shop, panicked a bit while the owner stood and stared awkwardly. Then, to his surprise, brought the damn ring.

Crowley was seated at his breakfast bar stool, leaning his head on the table as he stared at the ring, remembering the 400 year old situation. He was really angry at himself. How did he not notice the angel's and his own feelings sooner? He sighed a bit, but then a surge of determination and hope coursed through his veins and Crowley stood up, put on his sunglasses and left his apartment (with ring in hand.)

The Bently cruised down the streets of London, at what Aziraphale (and any sane being) would call a completely unreasonable speed, blaring 'crazy little thing called love' out the open windows. Crowley tutted when the song began, but knowing there was little to do to change the situation, drove on. The demon skidded on the path outside the bookshop. He hopped out the Bently then sauntered through the door, trying to look as unpanicked as possible and failing miserably.

"Angel, You in?" He called out, knowing the answer, but also knowing it was the silly human trait 'decency'.  
There wasn't sound at first, so he wandered the shop a bit, repeating the endearing name. Then a small sigh and defeated, "yes," came from the back room.  
Crowley travelled to the back room with a speed no demon had ever walked. He swung round the doors open frame to see the angel, reading a book.  
"What'cha reading?" Crowley asked, hoping up on the table, trying to show a sense of normalcy.  
"An Inspector Calls." Aziraphale answered back. This to any other being may have seemed like a factual answer. However, Crowley knew this angel well, and Aziraphale would have gone on a hour long rant about how much of a bitch Mrs. Birling is. So, for the demon this wasn't an acceptable answer.

Crowley nodded his head, then didn't say a word. The two sat there in this horrid, thick, uncomfortable silence. It made Crowley feel a little sick, so he initiated the dreaded conversation.  
"So, the other day..." He sat on the table, next to Aziraphale's book, and swung his legs. Aziraphale made a hum of half-acknowledgement.  
With no answer, Crowley continued, "I wanted to give my answer. If that was the question you were asking." He tried to hint at the mix up, but he could tell that Aziraphale was using all his might to ignore him, It made Crowley feel a bit like shit.  
"If you want my honest answer, I think boyfriends sound wrong,- at this point in time, both Aziraphale and Crowley's stomachs dropped. Crowley's, as he choose an awful choice in words. Aziraphale's, because nobody want's to hear that from the being they love- I mean, It doesn't describe what we are, in human terms. We're not boyfriends."  
Crowley tried and succeeded this without showing panic, in fact he really didn't show much emotion at all (which made the situation ten times worse). He'd stopped himself at this point. He could feel that no matter how he went on, it wouldn't go well.

Aziraphale closed his book, and looked down at the cover.  
"Is that really how you feel?" Aziraphale asked with such a terrifying calmness in his voice.  
"Yes.. I mean no? I don't know." Crowley answered, dread becoming slowly clearer in his voice.  
"I do understand. It was silly of me to ask. I apologise for making you fret over such a ridiculous notion," he looked up at the demon, with the most feeble of smile and the most sincere voice, "I'll see you soon."

Aziraphale got up and left the back room.  
"Angel!" Crowley shouted but, like before, he had forced Crowley to leave (this way much more dreadful than the last.)


	3. Chapter 3

Aziraphale didn’t open shop the day after he learnt Crowley’s answer, or a few days after that. This wasn't because he died, like the London rumours would have you believe. It is because he went down south for the day to the small town of Tadfield. He needed some time away from the business of London. He needed to clear his head, and the place where the end of the world was meant to take place was perfect for that. Aziraphale arrived at the Tadfield station, by train. On the train, he saw a tired mother with two very untired children. Aziraphale felt a pang of pity and gave her a little miracle. He did hope the children enjoyed their sleep.   
In the heart of Tadfield (If a town so small can have a heart) the angel begun his trek to a familiar little cottage.  
Anathema Device resided in this cottage, and from what Aziraphle remembers she was a kind and respectable young woman. 

Aziraphale stood in front of the door. It was just catching up to him how inappropriate this whole situation was. Although he and Miss Device had crossed paths in the last month, he wasn't too sure if she actually remembered him or if she would want to see him. However, he had travelled all the way here and really didn't have anywhere else to go. He contemplated his decision once more, then turned around to leave, it was most certainly the right thing to do. 

As he took his first steps away from the house, he heard a familiar voice.  
"Are you gonna come in Mr. Aziraphale? 'Cause you look like a real weirdo just standing at the door."   
Azriaphale lit up like a Christmas tree. He spun to the door and caught Adam Young in the most blessed hug.  
"Hello Adam, dear!" He beamed, releasing the slightly embarrassed anti-anti-christ.   
"Yeah, Hi," Adam giggled.

Behind Adam, appeared one of the children who helped stopped the apocalypse (Aziraphale couldn't remember his name), A skinny young man and the owner of this establishment.   
"Oh, um Hello!" Azirapahle didn't really know what to do, so he stood tall and wrung his hands.   
There was a rather awkward silence between the 3 humans, the not-son yet son of satan and the ethereal being.   
Adam decided to take action, "Guys, this is Aziraphale. He's an angel, he and some demon guy - Aziraphale's face dropped a bit at the mention of his... the Demon- helped me a lot with this whole armaggedon't thing. He's cool."  
During this conversation Adam somehow directed the group into Anathema's kitchen. Aziraphale mentally thanked him for his little miracle. 

Anathema nodded kindly then sat opposite the angel, and stared to stare him down. There was a sense of judgement in the room then, "You hit me with your car."  
Ah... Azriaphale may have forgotten about that.   
"Oh, yes. I do apologise for that. I suppose it does need an proper explanation. You see, Crowley always speeds and I've told him before he'll hit someone if he's not careful, and he did. He never listen's to me. That's a lie actually, he does listen to me. I feel like he's the only person who listens. He's the only person to understands me and cares for me and- and I don't know what to do..."

Aziraphale couldn't tell where the talking stopped and crying started but he sat in Anethama's kitchen with the lady stiffly rubbing his arms, telling him to calm down.   
"Shh... It's okay, Do you want to talk about it?"  
Aziraphale sniffed a bit. He felt like a child being coddled by their mother.   
"If you would be so kind as to listen."  
Anathema smiled softly. 

"Well I'll relay the story to you. About 5 days ago, after the whole end of times mess, I was going to do something rather big," Aziraphale reached into his pocket and brought out an ornate box and opened it up, "I was going to propose to Crowley. I invited him over and attempted to propose but he didn't let me finish and asked if I wanted to be his boyfriend..."  
Azirraphale huffed and fiddled with the ring.   
"Okay, why's that bad?" The skinny man said. Aziraphale looked at him like he was an idiot.   
"Boyfriends? Dear boy, what is your name? -The man answered- Well, Mr. Newt, I have been on this earth for 6,000 years and have been in love with Crowley for hundreds of years and have known since the seconded world war, which was before anyone in this room was a twinkle in their father's eye. If you had to struggle with being painfully in love with someone for so long, then realise you were most married yet not at all married, I think you may begin to fathom the reason as to why we would be far from 'boyfriends'"  
That shut Newt up but also made Aziraphale feel bad for snapping, it's not this poor chap's fault that this is happening. But with little opportunity to do otherwise, Aziraphale continued,  
"As I was saying, A few days later he came into my shop and said 'We're not like boyfriends'. It truly broke my heart. I didn't know what to say or do. I wanted a hug, but the only person I could hug was him."  
A melancholy silence fell on the room.

"What if he was thinkin' the same thing as you?" Adam's friend thought out loud.  
Aziraphale needed to find out this boy's name. He looked at the school book that laid in front of the boy.   
"Whatever do you mean, Brian" Aziraphale looked the boy in the eyes.  
"Well, with what you were saying and what he said, sounds like you're both in the same boat. Like, he see's you more than boyfriends to, instead of just friends."  
"I thank you for taking pity, dear boy, but I don't think that's possible."  
"Why, though?" Adam now pitched in. The boy's stared at Aziraphale for an answer.   
"I- I mean, I just don't think he's the type to reciprocate my feelings. I felt different at the time, but I'm more aware now."  
Adam and Brian looked at each other, then looked at the angel.  
"But what if he came in to your shop and said 'we're not boyfriends' cause he wanted you to be something more to? Like what if he had a ring to and was gonna ask you?" Brian suggested. The angel was taken aback by this, however much he wanted to believe it, he couldn't.  
"He is a demon, dear boy, I do think he would have the confidence to just come out a say it." Oh Arizaphale would wish for anything to get him out of this mess. Anything.  
"Look Mr. Aziraphale, If you two act the way you do when you guys helped me, then there isn't a doubt in my mind he loves you."   
Adam said that, thinking it would help the situation, but Aziraphale just felt hurt from hearing (what he believed to be) lies.   
Nobody said a word, they all intently stared at Aziraphale, eager for a response. 

Newt was now the one to speak up.  
"Let's make a list!" He exclaimed, creating a confused look from all beings in the room, he then explained himself, "we should make a list of all the things that your... demon guy, has done to show you that he loves you."

So the beings sat round Anathema's kitchen table and proceeded to make a list. The list was wrote in the surprisingly pristine handwriting of Newt and went like this:

Does the demon guy love Aziraphale?   
\- Demon guy told Aziraphale he did a good thing  
\- Demon always approached him and talked to him  
\- Demon always looks happy around him  
\- Demon thinks of the arrangement' which was nice (Nobody but Aziraphale knew what this meant)  
\- Popularised Hamlet for Aziraphale  
\- Coming into the jewellery shop  
\- Saving Aziraphale's ass from france revolution  
\- And being super humble about it  
\- Crepes.   
(Aziraphale then proceeded to talk about a rather dark period that occurred in the mid 1800s. The topic seemed sore, so the others moved him along.)  
\- Saving Aziraphales ass in WW2  
\- The Books! (This seemed to be the most important thing to Aziraphale)  
\- Ritz dinners  
\- being ever so grateful when Aziraphale brung him something (Aziraphale didn't finish his sentence)  
\- Going off together (Both Adam and Brian giggled at this one, much to Aziraphale's displeasure)  
\- Walks in the park  
\- Crowley being himself around Aziraphale (Newt had finally learnt the demons name by this point)  
An hour into the list making session (Aziraphale liked to blabber), Adam pipped up, "And is this all of it?"  
Azriaphale, with a scourge of excitement due to talking about His Demon, said back, "We haven't even scratched the surface, my boy"  
"Oh my god, Seriously?" Anathema spoke for the first time in a very long while, "How on earth do you think he doesn't like you?"  
"Well, I just-"   
"No. No be quiet. We have sat here the last hour and made a long list with all the proof that he loves you. An hour, Aziraphale. You are a rather stupid Angel. Think about it, think of all the nice things he's done for you. Saving those books, making Hamlet popular, the dinners at the Ritz and the walks in the park. Think about it all, then look me in the eye, and tell me what you really think."  
Aziraphale couldn't.   
"Do you really think?" He asked, a sense of fear shone in his eyes.  
Adam grinned, "Mr. Aziraphale. At this point I don't think, I know."  
Aziraphale pondered on what these humans and one half human had said. On one hand, there was an undeniable amount of evidence that Crowley may have some form of attraction for the Angel. On the other hand, the angel's non-existent gut was telling him to bugger off.  
Brian broke the silence, "What's the worse that could happen?"  
"I could lose my best friend."   
"But you could gain a soulmate."

And that was that, Aziraphale had made up his mind.   
During the large conversation about the Angel and Demon, day had shifted into night. Aziraphale was about to leave when Anathema insisted he stayed the night, as she didn't want him to get the train at night, which would have made no difference to the Angel, but he did appreciate the sentiment. Hot chocolates we're made and 'The Corpse Bride' was ready to play, by request of Adam. Although, not much attention was paid to it as the very heated discussion of whether 'Nightmare before Christmas' was a halloween film or a Christmas film came about. No answer was decided, but everyone personally believed they were right. 

The next morning hugs and farewells occurred. Aziraphale promised to come and visit again. The train back to London was loud and bustling. Aziraphale appreciated this though. He appreciated the human-ness of it, and the fact that he couldn't wallow in his thoughts.  
But slowly, the passengers dispersed and Aziraphale sat on the train with an old couple in the back of the carriage and a brooding girl up front. Aziraphle thought to himself, 'was this really it?' After the 80 odd years that Aziraphale had known these feelings, he didn't really see what he was about to do as possible. It all seemed like a dream, that could so quickly turn into a nightmare.

The tannoy called for the Tottenham Court Road Crossrail Station and Aziraphale made his way through the the busy platform and onto the streets of Soho, to find his Demon.


	4. Chapter 4

felt uneasy. He believes he would have been fine if he just hadn't seen the Angel, but the shop not opening gave him a fear below but similar to what had happened a week prior (The fire, that still played on his mind). His apartment recognised this, mostly his plants. Over the weekend Cowley had rather violent changes in his mood toward his plants. One minute he would be going ballistic and screeching at them (as usual), the next he would sit in his own part of Eden, not saying a word. This made them incredibly uncomfortable.\ and understandably so For example if one were in a business situation, and their higher up was to scream and then go silent. One couldn't go over and just console their higher up, because A) That would make relation's between one and higher up awkward and B) It's not a very cool thing to do in front of all their co-workers.  
So the plants made no move of benevolence to their owner and instead all huffed and sighed, hoping he would soon leave. 

Crowley finally got up (much to the vegetation's delight), when the doorbell rung. This wasn't something the demon did efficiently, as it took him exactly 5 minutes and 54 seconds to cross the two rooms separating him and his front door. He hoped the guest would be gone, that was until he opened the door. 

And he saw an angel.  
His Angel.

"Aziraphale!" Crowley breathed out, "Oh, hell on earth."   
The angel smiled softly, "Hello dear."  
Now, Crowley had missed that.   
It had been six days since he'd been referred to as dear.  
It had been six days since he last saw the small rise of his angel's lips, when the angel saw him.   
It had been six days since Crowley felt such a happiness and wave of relief.   
"May I?" The Angel pointed into the house.   
Crowley stumbled around his words a bit before decided that moving away from the door would be the smartest way to let the angel in. 

Over the nearly 60 years that Crowley had owned his apartment, Aziraphale had only been in it about 10 times. The first time was when Crowley had first bought the house, the angel wanted to see how Crowley lived his life. He was unfortunately only restricted to the living room and kitchen/dining room, but even that affected the Angel greatly. His apartment felt empty. It was bare and cold. Even when sitting with Crowley, the angel felt a sense of loneliness. He couldn't actually imagine being alone in the apartment, like Crowley was almost every day. So the following time the angel visited he brought a little gift, and this was a tradition that continued for the next 8 times. The first gift was a book, then it was a a little mirror for the bathroom he's never seen. One of the most recent was a pair stuffed animal, a snake named Apple and a dove named Penny. Crowley would never admit it but he loved the pair. They sat in his room most of the time, but he brought them out when he was lonely. It made him feel more at home, in a strange way.   
This time, however, Aziraphale brought something a bit more extreme then a book or some teddies. A small ornate box that he had in his pocket. Crowley was unaware of this gift. 

The angel walked around the living room, tracing his fingers on the walls with such delicacy. He sighed out a mix of contentedness and worry. Then turned to the Demon.   
"Hi." Aziraphale huffed out awkwardly. He but his lips into a line and looked anywhere that wasn't at his demonic counterpart.   
"Yeah," There was a small, but uncomfortably long silence, "Do you wanna drink? I've got an nice bottle of house red in the cupboard."  
"No." Crowley was a tad taken aback by this answer. Aziraphale rarely gave up a chance to have a drink.   
"Everything I'm about to do-slash-say, would be better done if we both stay sober." This was meant to come out as a command to the demon, but it ended up sounding desperate. Like The angel was pleading for Crowley to cooperate.   
Crowley of course did, He led Aziraphale to the living room, where he sat on his comfy grey sofa, and the Angel paced. 

"So, the other day was a bit weird" Crowley begun, hoping conversation would calm Aziraphale down.   
"And we helped stop the apocalypse." The Angel joked, which brought an ease to Crowley (because for some reason he was scared Aziraphle could no longer joke?).  
"I think 'help' is a bit kind. We more so watched from afar while everyone else did their bidding."  
"Come now, we told Adam we believed in him."  
"Oh yes, I'm sure that meant the world to him, from two strangers." Crowley was obviously joking, but the tension in the room made the statement seem a bit more vicious then intended. Unfortunately, this made Aziraphale retreat back into quietness.

Romantic films are weird. They all contain scenes or cliches that would never happen in everyday life but when everyday is over 2,190,000 days (rather than the average 29,200), then there is a higher chance that these cliches may happen. So, 2,190,012 days into Crowley and Aziraphale's life on earth, the talking over each other cliche takes place. This is when a pair about to do or confess something big, become uncomfortably un-synced and both try to say what they have to say at the same time. Now, for pretty much anywhere other than Britain this wouldn't be a problem, but our two supernatural beings are far to British for their own goods, so the awkward dance of,  
"Oh you go first,"  
"No you go first"  
"I do insist,"  
"As do I,"   
Takes place for what feels like a minute before Aziraphale come's out with the rather unexpected, "oh, for God's sake!"

Then a more eloquent dance of words took place. This was more of a ballet then a waltz though, and it went like this.

"Crowley, I'm just going to say what I have to say. I know it's impolite, and I do Apologise, but I know if you start to say something I won't have the strange boost of confidence I have now and I won't say it at all. That would be unfair to the both of us. After being my best friend and on earth for 6,000 years, we should have, at some point, gained the ability to speak to each other, like the humans do. So here it goes. 6,000 years of a foreign feeling pushed out in the open.- He took a breath- The other day, when I said I wanted the humans to be right about us, I meant it. Of course I did, as I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't (Aziraphale had a strange habit when he was spieling, He would clarify every little thing he said. Just in case it could come back to bite him in the arse). The reason I got all defensive when you said we could be boyfriends is because I don't see us as that either.  
You have made my mind scream at a consistent rate for nearly 6,000 years.   
You have made my 'heart pound' and 'blood rush' for nearly 6,000 years.   
I have loved you for nearly 6,000 years even if I've only realised it as of late..."  
Aziraphale's mind only just caught up with what he said but instead if stopping, he went on. "So I do believe, That if we were going to follow any human tradition based upon love, It would be one that would be more fitting to us. We don't need the stupid ceremony or paper, but I truly would like to do what the humans do when they're this in love. So, Crowley. My dear, dear Crowley, would you do the most humanly honour of marrying me?"

Fuck. FUCK. Crowley sat there, stunned looking at the Angel, scratch that his Angel, down on one knee with an open Ornate Box in his hand. He couldn't speak. He couldn't move. He just sat there.   
Aziraphale held in a sob, "If... If it is a no, I do-"  
Crowley made a shush, then moved of the sofa, kneeling down. His face directly opposite his Angel's.   
"You beautiful bastard of an Angel." He reached into his pocket to pull out a delicate ring, "I've been keeping this bloody thing a secret for 400 years and here you are, beating me to it?"

Aziraphale stared at ring the the hand of his Demon's.   
"Hamlet..." He softly spoke.   
Crowley nodded, "Still prefer the funny ones"  
Aziraphale chuckled, but that chuckle quickly turned into a full on cry.   
Angels don't cry. That is a well known fact. It used frowned upon by god, but Aziraphale was soft and had broken the rule a million times before.   
Demons don't cry either. That was also a well known fact. It is frowned upon by Satan. Crowley was 'tough' and had only broke the rule twice, both for his angel.   
But now the two celestial beings knelt on the floor, heads gently balanced on one another, breaking all the rules.

For each other.


	5. Chapter 5

What a calming thing sleep is. Escaping from the stress' of everyday life, even if only for a few hours. This is exactly what sleep was for a celestial being. An escape instead of a requirement. That is why Aziraphale had only partaken in it once or twice, because what did he have to escape from (The answer is a lot, but Aziraphale likes to disagree with that)? That is also why Crowley has partaken in this activity more times than you can count on 100 hands, his life is a mess and he's fully aware of it. But never did either being imagine they would have fallen asleep together, or on the floor. 

Aziraphale was the first to awaken. His eyes fluttered open after being exposed to the sunlight coming from Crowley's window. When his eyes had fully opened he saw the beautiful face of his beautiful companion.  
He took the time to study every single detail on the demon's face. Every wrinkle, every spot, every thing that made him perfect (perfection may only exist as a construct, but it is a construct Aziraphale's happy to believe). While taking in every piece of the Demon's face, Aziraphale noticed how subtle yet vibrant Crowley was. His dark hair popped out from the sunlight behind but his fairly toned skin blended all too perfectly. Crowley is, the angel thought, who god intended the most attractive being alive. Her intentions, he thought again, were right.

When his examination came to an end, he remembered the events of the night before, and smiled both widely and smitten.  
He remembered what happened to the precise detail. He remembered word for word his rather graceless and bumb-ly confession, and how he wouldn't change it for the world (maybe not the world, he was quite fond of that, but something of importance... like sushi!) How he thought for a seconded that he had made a grave mistake. That Adam and Brian were wrong, that Anathema and newt had accidentally lied. How he was about to lose the most important being in his entire life. Then he remembered how Crowley knelt in front of him, and pulled out a recognisable ring from the 1600s. He remembered thinking that Crowley had been ready to commit to marriage for longer that he knew about these feelings. He remembered leaning there heads together, just breathing the same air. He also remembered crying, but knew it would be smart to just not bring that up. He remembered being tempted to lay his head on Crowley's carpeted floor and lulling into a deep deep, with his Demon in his arms. 

He remembered everything that made last night one of best in his life.

Aziraphale removed himself from Crowley's tight embrace and stood himself up, feeling the lush carpet tickle his feet. He looked down at his demon once more, before readying himself for the day ahead. Once hair and clothes were neatened, Aziraphale sat himself on Crowley's plump sofa and miracled up a copy of 'An Inspector Calls'.

The Angel finally looked up from his book, when Crowley stirred and awoke. His eyes were heavy with sleep, but Aziraphale could make out the golden spheres. The black slits (that on any human, would have been pupils) were small; that was until he looked up at the Angel. Then the slits were the size of ping pong balls. Large, and dare Aziraphale say, beautiful. 

"Hello dear." Aziraphale smiled, a soft and adoring smile.  
"Good morning, my angel" Crowley smiled back with the same fervour.  
There was a calming silence, as the two stared at each other.  
"I suppose we should talk about the events of last night." Aziraphale said, trying to sound clinical, but his Demon knew him to well to not hear the emotion pouring out of his mouth.  
"I suppose we should."  
There was another silence, a tad more restive than the last.  
"Everything I said last night. I meant it." Aziraphale whispered, loud enough for Crowley to hear.  
"I didn't say much," the Demon joked, "but me too."  
"Good."

They didn't talk about it again for the rest of the day. Aziraphale had panicked as he was horrendously late to the bookshop, which hadn't even been opened the past few days. Crowley drove the two there. Speeding down the roads of London, with some Queen song playing in the back (the familiar 'We are the champions'), Azirapahle was jabbering on about that bitch, Mrs Birling. Crowley was listening intently to every word, but due to that wasn't concentrating to intently on the road. Many horns were beeped and many insults were thrown at the Bently's driver, but he didn't really care.

The car glided into it's normal parking spot and out hopped the Angel and Demon. They both looked at each other and smiled before making there way into the corner shop. 

The day went on as it normally would have done. Aziraphale tended to exactly 17 customers and sold 0 books and the Snake curled on the front desk scared of customers who put up a fight about it. It was typical day in the A.Z Fell bookshop. It was what came after that was strange. Far too familiar, but strange. 

The two sat in the backroom of the bookshop, sipping on a mix of warm drinks and had alcohol. They sat in silence as Crowley scrolled through his phone and Aziraphale sipped on his drink. He thought to himself, what's the use of not saying what he was about to say, he'd already confessed his feelings. May as well make things clear.

"What is this?" He asked.  
"Come now angel, last time you made this mistake we didn't talk for nearly a week!" Crowley answered, jest in his voice.  
"Of course dear, my apologies. What are we?" This was a different question. A question that Crowley now answered with more certainty than he did before.  
"We, my Angel, are to be husbands."  
"Yes, I do prefer that to fiances."  
"As do I!"  
The two stared at each other and smiled. Aziraphale took the glued on shades off his dearests face, and instantly locked eyes.  
"I wish you wouldn't wear those bloody things," Aziraphale murmured, "They hide your beautiful eyes."  
Crowley laughed, "Kind of the point Angel."  
"I know."

Silence once again fell upon the room, but it was a soft and welcoming silence. It always seemed to be. 

"A toast! " Aziraphale tenderly exclaimed, "For humans and there perfectly bizarre traditions!"  
A pair of wine glasses miraculously appearing on the table in front of them.  
"To the world, my dear"  
"To the world, angel"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this little fic in the bag for a while now.  
Thought I'd post it all at once!  
I hope you enjoyed my shitty rendition of some amazing characters!  
Have a wonderful life!


End file.
